


What’s So Secret About An Identity

by Cloudedspace



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Batman: The Animated Series, Superman - All Media Types, Superman: The Animated Series
Genre: Awkward Clark Kent, Identity Reveal, Idiots in Love, M/M, Mystery, Secret Identities, flirtatious Bruce Wayne, reciprocated love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:28:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27743764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cloudedspace/pseuds/Cloudedspace
Summary: What happens when the worlds greatest detective gets curious about the worlds most powerful man? He investigates of course.Or: The time Bruce finds out about Superman’s identity and the time Clark finds out Batman’sA reupload of an old fic
Relationships: Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne
Comments: 3
Kudos: 125





	1. Chapter 1

Bruce Wayne was the talk of the town. The lovable idiot of Gotham who fell into fountains with pretty ladies and donating to causes in need. The billionaire was always in the news for something, he it his company Wayne Enterprises or the man himself. This time it was kind of about both. Bruce Wayne was holding a charity gala at his famous manor at the top of Gotham. The mansion stood high on the hill, cliffs on every edge, it was surrounded by beautiful plants and shrubbery, kept fenced in from the public. 

For this specific gala the Wayne Foundation sent out two tickets to each major neighboring news source. The two biggest ones being The Gotham Gazette and The Daily Planet. The Gotham Gazette had only submitted one reporter so far, Vickie Vale. The Daily Planet however, had submitted both of their invitations, Lois Lane and Clark Kent. 

Bruce knew both well, Lois was an aspiring journalist, a feisty brunette who got what she wanted when she wanted. Then there was Clark... Bruce had some suspicions around him. After all Clark Kent showed up at the same time as Superman, disappears when the big boy in blue shows up (something no reporter should do in Metropolis), and seemed too nice... too real, in a way. 

Either way it was something Bruce was looking forward to. He wanted to analyze the journalist, wanted to see if his theory was correct. After all being the worlds greatest detective it wouldn’t be hard to figure out if he was right. 

The gala starts out with a bang, dancing, drinking, several rich people writing checks and putting hundreds of dollars into the charity box. Bruce makes his way through the crowd, a charming smile on his face that wasn’t completely fake, greeting each new guest. He shook hands and clinking glasses with people and sipping champagne. He tries not to drink too much, knowing that a drunk Bruce Wayne wasn’t the best idea ever, unless it was fake drunk. 

While walking through the crowed someone bumps straight into Bruce, the champagne splashing down his fancy dress shirt and jacket. 

“Oh my god!” A voice rings out from in front of him, a jacket being pressed to his chest to try and soak up the champagne. “M-Mr. Wayne I’m so sorry! I wasn’t watching where I... I mean! I-“

Bruce’s eyes widen and he looks forwards towards the voice, only to be met with the most broad, strong chest that he had ever seen in his life. Bruce’s mouth opens and closes several times before he finally looks slightly higher. He’s met with a very flustered Clark Kent, his glasses slipping down his his nose slightly, showing his big beautiful blue eyes more clearly. They made Bruce even more flabbergasted than he already was. 

Ever so slowly he closes his mouth and pulls back, trying to readjust himself as much as he can with a ruined outfit. “Oh uh... don’t worry about it! Mr... um... Kent?” He says quickly, pretending to read the other mans press pass. 

If Bruce was being honest, despite his theory of this man being Superman, he hadn’t expected him to be so strong looking and... well... incredibly handsome. He had seen pictures of both Clark Kent and Superman of course, but none of the pictures came close to the real thing. He was about an inch or so taller than Bruce, had a strong jaw and the biggest bluest eyes Bruce had ever seen. His hair was nicely styled back and he was wearing a cute button up plaid shirt with a bow tie. Needless to say Bruce’s heart was thumping wildly, something that hadn’t happened in a long time. 

“I-I could pay for dry cleaning or...” 

Had Clark been talking the whole time. It was really unlike him to just blank out like that, he blushes a little, embarrassment creeping up his spine as he realizes how many people saw him gawk at Clark Kent. 

He tugs at the collar of his dress shirt and laughs nervously. “Don’t even worry okay? I’ll just go have my butler go fetch me a new outfit.” He says with a charming smile as he turns and leaves. He can feel Kent’s stare on his back as he quickly moves into the kitchen and shuts the doors behind him. 

Alfred stood at the counters preparing another batch of cookies for the refreshment table. When the older man hears the doors open and then close he looks up from his baking. Surprised to see a blushing and soaking wet Bruce. He quickly grabs a rag and walks over to the man he considered to be his son and starts dabbing at the shirt, that was going to leave a nasty stain if he didn’t get to it soon. “Master Bruce what happened??”

Bruce blushes even more, his face looking practically like a tomato. “Clark Kent happened..” he says as he takes off the dress jacket and starts doing the same with his tie. 

“The lad from The Daily Planet? The one you have suspicions about?” Alfred asks as he sets the towel down. Ready to take the mans clothes and take them to the washer. 

“Yeah him... he accidentally spilled his drink on me.” 

“Hmm but you at least got to talk to him right?” Alfred asks, his eyebrow raising. 

“Well... uh you see... I kind of got distracted...”

The eyebrow raised more at this and Bruce sighs. 

“I got distracted by him okay, as much as I don’t like to admit it.”

Alfred smirks at this. Gathering up the mans clothes once he’s shed his shirt as well. “Someone who distracted the Batman Hmm?? Now that is something.” Alfred heads out of the kitchen, going to go grab Bruce a new pair of clothes and to wash the soiled ones. 

He takes a deep breath, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back against the counter. He glances over to where the freshly baked cookies had been taken out of the oven, placed perfectly on an expensive, porcelain plate. He slowly glances to where Alfred left before picking one up and starting to eat it. It was perfect as always. Chewy but not too much, and the chocolate chips melted in his mouth. 

He takes another bite of the cookie, almost choking on it when the door opens and Kent peeks his head in. The journalist blushes, making eye contact with the shirtless billionaire taking a bite of a cookie. Both of them have an equally dark blush on their faces. 

Slowly Bruce swallows the piece of cookie that was in his mouth and puts on the charming smile he had used earlier. “Hungry Mr. Kent.” He asks with a sly look on his face, successfully making the other man blush even darker. 

“I uh didn’t realize this was a kitchen I was um...” slowly the man steps in and shuts the door behind him, making Bruce blush a little darker, it doesn’t go unseen by the observant journalist. “I was just making sure you were okay because I uh... spilt my drink on you.” 

“Oh don’t worry about it, I already have a backup suit on the way.” He says with a smirk, showing his pearly whites.

Kent blushes at this, his mouth opening and closing, at a loss for words. “Um... is there anything I can do to make it up to you?” He asks hesitantly. 

“Well... you’re a reporter aren’t you? How about a private interview with yours truly?”

Kent’s face only gets more red at Bruce’s words. “But isn’t that... more to my benefit than yours?” He says quietly. 

“Mmm not when you see it form my perspective.” Bruce says as he looks Clark up and down. He can practically hear the man blush at this point. Bruce knew how to seduce people, it was one of Bruce Wayne talents. Sometimes it was also Batman’s but that was a more rate occurrence. 

“I mean uh... if you’re offering...” Kent pulls out his joypad and pen, looking up to Bruce, his glasses sliding down his nose slightly. “When and where can I expect this interview?” 

“How about right here right now.” Bruce says as he seductively takes another bite of his cookie. Making Kent gulp, pushing up his glasses with his pointer finger. 

“I uh... I mean but... you’re...” He gestures to Bruce’s bare chest, making the billionaire chuckle.

“Does it make you uncomfortable?”

“N-no! But uh... it’s a bit...” blue eyes wander down Bruce’s slightly scared up chest. “Distracting...”

Bruce smirks, setting the cookie down and walking up to Clark and gently placing his hand on the mans chest. Almost instinctively Clark drops his notepad in favor of placing his hand on the other mans waist. God this was practically too easy. Not that Bruce was complaining, if he wasn’t almost sure that this man was Superman then he would lead him right upstairs to his bedroom. After all Kent was very attractive and it was very in character for Bruce Wayne.

“Distracting huh? Is it distracting in a bad way?” He asks as he gets closer to the mans face, he half expects the man to pull back away from him, but instead the man stays still, his eyes going down to Bruce’s lips, as if asking the man to kiss him. Interesting. 

“N-no of course not! I-“ 

Bruce smiles and moves closer. “So about that interview...” he says as he slowly unbuttons Clark’s shirt. A surge of pride runs through him as he sees the blue material and the top of an S. Before he can get too far Clark quickly puts his hand over Bruce’s. A deep blush on his face. 

“Mr. Wayne I-“

“Master Bruce I have that...” Alfred walks in, glancing at the scene before him, seeming unfazed by it. “Perhaps I’ll leave your new clothes here.” He says, setting them down on the table. 

“Don’t worry about it Alfred.” He says as he walks over to the new clothes and starts dressing himself. “Rain check on that one on one interview?” He asks Clark before winking. The country boy looks stunned, slowly nodding his head before walking out of the room. 

“Well did you get your answer?” Alfred asks quickly, picking up the plate of cookies to take out.

“Yeah Alfred, I sure did.” He says with a smirk. He would have to keep a close eye on this Clark Kent. He was going to do great things.


	2. Chapter 2

Clark hadn’t been Superman for very long, about two or so years. But in that short amount of time he had caught the eye of everyone in Metropolis. No. Everyone in the world. A super hero with the powers of Superman were something no civilian had ever seen before. Well... in reality no civilian had ever seen anyone with powers before. The only thing that came close was a masked vigilante in Gotham. No one knew who he was, if he had powers, or even if he was real. Despite what the police were saying, people could see a real change in Gotham after this... thing showed up, or the rumors of it rather. 

In all honesty this cryptic like figure helped make it easier to start being Superman. He had come to Metropolis to make a name for himself as Clark Kent as a journalist and to save people as Superman. But the first few times were... so difficult. At first he just tried to stop muggings, but he accidentally broke an assailants arm and it scared him, making him not want to go back to that life. 

Luckily he had a support system to fall back on. Lena and his ma and pa called him all the time, asking how the big city was. His ma asked more personal questions about him being a superhero. He had to explain to her the situation and how he was scared to try again. She understood but told him that he shouldn’t give up so quickly. 

Luckily enough for him, a certain woman with a fiery personality brought something to his attention. One day while Clark had been writing one of his papers for The Daily Planet when Lois Lane, a woman that had caught his eye from day one, slammed a news paper from the Gotham Gazette on his desk before sitting on the edge of it. 

The headline had read, “Bat Creature Terrorizing Criminals in Gotham.” It wasn’t a headline you read every day. In fact it’s something he had never read... ever. Yet some how it caught his attention like everyone else on the east coast. He kept up with the stories that flooded their neighbors across the bay. 

This bat creature showed up in every news article, right along side the crime rates dropping drastically. It was inspiring in a way, a hero in the most crime ridden place in the US. Even if the man was just a rumor, no one had actually caught a clear picture or video of him yet. Despite that, Clark found inspiration from that. 

Not too long after Clark as Superman saved a plane from crashing. It was sloppy but no one died, no one was even hurt! Suddenly news outlets were talking about Superman instead of the bat creature. It was inspiring to Clark! Made him realize that he could be Superman! He could save people. 

Which is what led him flying to Gotham after a horrible earthquake. There was a growing list of dead and missing people. One of the missing being Billionaire Bruce Wayne, he had shown up to a party in the middle of Gotham and hadn’t been seen after the earthquake. Reports were coming in that the quake was man made, some sort of device that was used to hold the city ransom. Someone had done... something... in an attempt to foil the plan but it had obviously failed: to some extent.

From the police chatter Clark could hear the quake wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Whoever had tried to stop the machine was able to lower the damage radius to just the city block the machine was at. Despite that there was a lot of damage, and the cops couldn’t get in where the machine was because all entrances to the mostly destroyed building were blocked off. It seemed like the cops were worried about the machine sending after shocks if they didn’t get to it. That’s where Superman came in!

Clark flies through one of the windows that had been destroyed in the earthquake. The building was almost fully destroyed, most of the floors were busted through, making it easier for him to fly down to the basement floor. He flies down as far as he can, having to walk the rest of the way down the stairs. Getting to the basement was easy enough, but once he’s there his eyes widen, it was a mess. Everything was destroyed, including the machine. There was no way it would be sending off shockwaves anytime soon. 

Clark sighs in relief, turning to leave when he hears a faint groan. His eyes widen, going quiet and simply listening to his surroundings, he hears creaking from the building, it could come down on him any minute. But he could also hear a faint heart beat. His eyes widen more, someone was in the building! Quickly he turns around, using his X-ray vision to scan the debris. Finally he finds the unmoving figure, whoever it was Clark was amazed they were alive, buried under that much debris. 

He hurried over to where the person was buried, starting to slowly dig the person out. He had to go carefully, slowly, otherwise he could hurt the person more. He moves a rather large piece of rubble, almost dropping it back down when he sees who or rather what’s under the rubble. Under so much rubble, trying to protect a city, was the cryptid they had been helping Gotham city for the last three years. The person who many thought wasn’t even real, while others, such as the commissioner, claimed he was real no mater what people said. 

Though, looking at the man under the rubble, this ‘Batman’ was as real as any other citizen of Gotham. Curiosity gets the best of Clark, and slowly he leans down, putting his thumb under the mans cowl and pulling. He doesn’t get far enough to take it off, instead the masked figure grabs Clark’s hand in a death grip, one that felt too strong for a normal mans. But then again, what normal man would put on a latex bat suit and fight crime?

“D-Don’t...”

Clark’s eyes widen when the man starts talking, the mans voice was filled with pain, not surprising considering he had a building fall on him. 

“Don’t worry Mr... uhhh bat sir?? I’ll have you out of here in a few moments!” He says as he tries lifting a large piece of rubble off of the mans torso. Suddenly the man is screaming, grabbing Clark’s forearm, gripping it as tight as he could. 

Clark’s eyes widen and he quickly stops, turning back toward the man, blood drips slowly out of the bats mouth, blood that hadn’t been there before. 

“I... said don’t...” Batman growls out, his eyes clenched shut. 

“I- I thought you were talking about the mask!” He turns towards the mans stomach, using his X-ray vision again, seeing a steal beam going down through the mans torso. This would be a lot harder than he thought. 

“I- god what do I do??” He mumbles to himself quietly. 

“I need you to focus c-Clark...” 

Clark’s eyes widen and they snap towards Batman, looking at him surprised. “How did you...” 

Batman reaches a hand up, pulling down the cowl and showing the very handsome but beat up face of Bruce Wayne. The man hadn’t intended to ever share his identity with Clark, but right now he really had no choice. If he wanted to get out of here alive than he needed Clark’s help, Superman’s help. 

“B-Bruce Wayne?!” He says quickly, looking down at the billionaire that less than a year ago had been flirting with him shirtless in the manors kitchen. 

Bruce attempts to roll his eyes but pain takes over and he scrunched his eyes up, letting out a groan of pain. Slowly he reaches up with a shaky and bloody hand, taking his ear piece out and gently placing it in Clark’s hand. 

“Here’s the plan boy scout...” Bruce says quickly, his pain tolerance must be high if he was still coherent through all of this. “You’re going to use your super strength to rip this out of me got it...? No matter how much I scream or bleed you do it...” 

“But-“

“I’m not finished... once this is done you fly me towards the manor, use that com piece... there will be a man on the other line, tell him who you are and my condition... he will guide you from there...” Bruce says quietly before slowly pulling the cowl back up to hide his face. “Now do it...” he says quietly. 

Clark’s eyes widen and slowly he takes ahold of the slab before quickly and without warning lifting it up, ripping the bar out of Bruce’s stomach. The man screams loudly, instantly and instinctively covering the wound with his own torn up cape. These moves were practiced, this had happened more than once. The thought of the billionaire going out and fighting crime, getting seriously wounded, for what?? Why did he do this?

“Clark!” Bruce says with a harsh gasp. Grabbing the mans hand and putting it over where his blood stained cape covered the wound, making the super human apply pressure. “I-I know we don’t know each other but you’re Superman... I’m this city’s savior... so please... take me to the manor... use the communicator...” Bruce says quietly. His voice wavering before the bat passes out. 

“Mr. Wayne?? B-Batman! BRUCE!” Clark looks down at the man bleeding out under his finger tips. Quickly he rips the cape off of the mans shoulders, wrapping it around Bruce’s middle and tying it as tight as he can without it hurting Bruce. 

Then, ever so gently he picks Bruce up out of the wreckage and flys up the stairs out of the building. He can hear cops and civilians pointing up at him, all of them looking amazed to see the Batman, the stuff of legends with him. “The machine was destroyed! You’re safe now!” He yells out before flying towards the manor. 

He places the communicator in his ear and presses down on the button. “H-hello...” He says nervously as he continues flying towards the manor. 

Suddenly a very British voice comes from the com. “Who is this?! How did you-“

“Uh sir! This is Superman! I have Batman with me, he’s very injured I can barley hear his heart beat! He was impaled on a steal bar! He said you would lead me to where I need to go!”

There’s silence on the other end for a moment, as if the person is seeing if the man was lying. Soon enough he answers again. “Head to south side of Wayne manors cliff side, I’ll let you in.”

Clark’s eyes widen slightly but quickly flys down to the cliff side, suddenly an entrance opens up, making Clark’s eyes only winding more. He flys inside the tunnel, soon coming out on the other side. He flys into a large open cavern, it’s filled with several machines, a large computer, a plane, and a slick car. At the computer is the butler who he had met at the gala. Looking worried and a little surprised that the person talking to him was actually Superman. His eyes widen more when he sees Bruce. 

“Hurry! Come set him down over here!” He says as he gestures to a gurney. Clark seems a little flabbergasted by what he was seeing but nods. Moving to set the man down on the gurney where the butler starts to look over him. 

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Clark asks quickly. Looking over the very injured man. 

“No... in fact I need complete silence, I can’t be disturbed.” 

“Where should i-“ 

“The elevator.”

“What-“

“NOW.” 

Clark’s eyes widen, turning around, towards a little elevator. Slowly he walks into it, pressing the up button. When it opens up he’s in a beautiful living room with a fireplace that hadn’t been used in years. Above the mantel is a picture of Mr. and Mrs. Wayne when their eight year old son. It was taken only months before their unfortunate death. 

Clark steps out of the elevator, feeling almost numb. He looks down, his S and shield were covered in Bruce Wayne’s blood. A sight he never thought he would see...

He steps forwards slowly sitting down in one of the arm chairs and simply looking around the room. A rich man with nothing to lose... he remembered the night the Wayne’s died so clearly. It was on every channel, the horrible and gruesome death right in front of the eight year old son. To think such a thing could drive a man to dress in a bat suit and fight crime. At least... that’s what Clark assumed was the reasoning...

Time passed so slowly when you had super speed, making the hours seem like days until finally the clock that hid the elevator opens up and the butler steps out, his suit covered in blood, that didn’t seem like a good sign...

The butler sighs and takes off his blood soaked gloves and turning to Clark. “Master Bruce is awake, he’s asking for you...” 

Clark quickly stands up, looking at the man with wide scared eyes before slowly walking into the elevator. The ride down is agonizingly slow, but soon enough he reaches the bottom. He quickly floats over to where the gurney was, Bruce is on it still, his chest covered heavily in bandages and his face paler than it usually was. 

“Uh... Mr. Wayne... b-Batman?” Clark days quietly as he walks in. 

The man slowly opens his eyes and looks up at the man. “Kent...”

“How did you know?” He asks curiously, unable to stop himself.

“I had my suspicions, but the night in the kitchen I confirmed it, I saw the S under your shirt.” He says simply, looking up at Clark with icy blue eyes. 

“Wait you... what??” 

“Does it really matter now, I think we’re even since you know who I am.” He says simply. 

Clark sighs, rubbing his head and looking at the injured man. “You... okay?”

“I’ve had worse.” 

“Why... why are you doing this? You’re only human... you could end up dying...” Clark asks confused, this whole situation was so confusing. Bruce had almost bled out in his arms, just went through a surgery, and seemed to be perfectly awake and in no pain. Was the man that good at hiding stuff. 

Thinking back to the night in the kitchen, Clark remembered seeing scars that littered the other mans body. Looking down at him now he could see a few of the same scars, at least, the ones that weren’t covered by the bandages. 

“Because Gotham needs me. It doesn’t need a rich billionaire, it needs someone to protect them...”

“A hero...” Clark says without thinking, making Bruce look at him with a raised eyebrow.

“I wouldn’t go that far...” 

Clark blushes darkly and rubs the back of his neck. “But um... that’s what you are! You save people from criminals! You defend the city from threats like you tried to do with that earthquake machine! You’re an inspiration for so many people, including me...”

Bruce’s eyes widen and he quickly looks to Clark with a face that simply said ‘explain.’ 

“Well uh... I tried being Superman before the whole plane incident... and I just couldn’t do it, I didn’t know how to be a hero. But then these rumors started happening about a bat creature bringing hope to Gotham... it helped me try again... and well... you know the rest...”

Bruce looks amazed at this, to think that this stoic man was amazed by something so simple as inspiring someone. He stays like that for a moment before taking a deep painful breath, making Clark’s eyes widen. 

“I should let you rest...” He says as he goes to walk out of the little side room but stops. “I hope I continue to hear things about Batman... he’s gonna save Gotham...” Clark smiles at the man before flying out of the cave. 

The man swears he can hear Bruce’s heart skip a beat, but he pushes the thought aside, flying out into the cold, smoggy Gotham air.

**Author's Note:**

> Awhile ago I ended up deleting all of my fics. Someone reached out to me to reupload one of them so I decided that I would slowly reupload the rest. So here’s this one! Keep in mind this fic is a little older and I didn’t check for any mistakes before reuploading! So sorry about that!


End file.
